MINSTER  , two towns of

Kent, England . I . MINSTER-IN-THANET, in the Isle of Thanet parliamentary division, lies on the southern slope of the isle, above the Minster marshes, in the low, flat valley of the river Stour, 4 M. west of Ramsgate, on the South-Eastern & Chatham railway . Pop . (r9o1), 2338 . Its church, dedicated to St Mary, is cruciform, with a, western tower, the nave a fine example of Norman work, the transepts and chancel a beautiful Early English addition . The carved choir-stalls are a notable feature . The church belonged to a nunnery, founded at the close of the 7th century . The abbey, a residence close to the church, incorporates portions of the ancient buildings . Fruit-growing is largely carried on in the neighbourhood . 2 . MINSTER-IN-SHEPPEY, in the north-eastern, parliamentary division, lies in the Isle of Sheppey, near the north coast .

Pop . (1901), 1306 . It is served by the Sheppey

light railway from Sheerness, 2 M. west . The village has in modern times become a seaside resort . It has a fine church, dedicated to St Mary and St Sexburga, originally attached to a convent of the 7th century, founded by Sexburga, widow of Erconberht, king of Kent . The building as it stands is only a portion of the conventual church founded in the early part of the 12th century by William de Corbeuil, archbishop of Canterbury; it retains also traces of pre-Norman work . It contains some interesting early monuments . The abbey gatehouse remains, and other fragments may be traced . There are oyster beds in the neighbouring shallow sea .